SMEs are moving ICT discussions from the realms of IT department to the Board room

Prateek Pashine, Head, Enterprise Business, Tata Teleservices, talks about overall the technology landscape, the impact of new technologies on the enterprises and SMEs, in an interview with CIOL

These are good days for the IT vendors. With India Inc. and the consumers adopting IoT, big data and cloud computing in a big way, what are the tactical and strategic changes you see taking place in the industry in the next few years?
While big data, enterprise mobility, the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing were only technology buzzwords earlier, businesses are actually undergoing a transformation towards embracing these disruptive technologies.

The massive adoption of these disruptive technologies around the world is due to the numerous business benefits through a whole new definition of collaboration and connectivity ultimately generating business value.

The transformation phase has enterprises strategize and include enterprise mobility as part of a renewed approach towards business. This is the change that’s already happening within the industry. The integration of new technologies along with their various applications and software make it easier for the workforce to collaborate and communicate with staff, customers, and vendors. This strategic change allows companies to have an unprecedented level of connectivity.

The other bigger tactical change that is seen is the way businesses are utilizing benefits of big data and cloud computing; slowly moving towards a world where IoT will become the new mantra of business operations. The penetration of IoT has increased in the day-to-day functioning of SMEs. The network is continually collecting valuable data that has the potential to fundamentally change the way SMEs work.

What will be the impact?
The impact will be significant. Adoption of smarter technologies like cloud computing and IoT in business not only increases productivity and operational efficiencies for enterprises, but will also help in cost-cutting.

The main roadblocks faced by SME sector in India are the lack of technology know-how, funding options, unclear return on investments, cluttered product portfolio, high cost for technical support and high investments made in legacy systems.

Most importantly, the new technologies will put customer demand, production and supplier data in context at a rate that is faster and more accessible. This in turn will lead to lower costs, increased efficiency and faster response times. SMEs in India are the smartest section lapping to the huge benefits that smart technologies deliver to the changing market dynamics.